Yankees Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan To Retire

NEW YORK - APRIL 13: Athletic trainer Gene Monahan of the New York Yankees acknowledges the fans after he received his 2009 World Series ring prior to the Yankees playing against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the Yankees home opener at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)Athletic trainer Gene Monahan of the New York Yankees acknowledges the fans after he received his 2009 World Series ring prior to the Yankees playing against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during the Yankees home opener at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 2010. (credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (WFAN) — The New York Yankees announced today that Head Athletic Trainer Gene Monahan, who is the longest-tenured employee in the Yankees organization, will retire at the conclusion of the 2011 season after 49 years of continuous service.

Monahan is the longest-tenured Head Athletic Trainer in the Major Leagues, having worked in that capacity for the last 39 years. In December, he was honored along with longtime Assistant Athletic Trainer Steve Donohue as the “Best Athletic Trainers” in Major League Baseball in 2010 by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainer Society (PBATS). Other recent commendations include the 2009 “Distinguished Athletic Trainer” Award from the National Athletic Trainers Association and induction into the New York State Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2007. Monahan and Donohue were also honored with Major League Baseball’s “Athletic Training Staff of the Year” Award in 1990.

“Gene Monahan embodies all the very best virtues that this organization strives to uphold,” said New York Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner. “His devotion to his craft, passion for the game of baseball and tireless work ethic are only a few of the qualities that have made him a bedrock within this franchise for nearly 50 years. Gene has made a lifetime’s worth of sacrifices and contributions in order to best serve the Yankees, and our entire organization will always be grateful.”

Mr. Monahan first worked for the Yankees organization in 1962, serving as a bat boy and clubhouse attendant during spring training while in his senior year at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale. He began his athletic training career with the Yankees’ Class-D Ft. Lauderdale affiliate in 1963, and was promoted just two years later in 1965 to Double-A, where he served as head trainer for Columbus (Ga.) and Binghamton (N.Y.). In 1969, he made the jump to Triple-A Syracuse, where he worked through 1972 before heading the Yankees’ Major League training staff in 1973.